School are-opens

Red Weather Warning

Met Eireann has issued a Red Weather warning so school will bevclosed today and tomorrow and Friday.

should there be any change to this we will contact parents by text and email and post notices to our website and Aladdin.ie

Stay safe and enjoy snow.

le meas

Board of Management

S Catherines NS

February 23, 2018

Congratulations to the boys and girls who represented St Catherine's so well in this year's inter schools Debating Competition.

We had two teams entered this year and both teams were wonderful ambassadors for the school. One team winning their debate and the other losing out to Donabate but the margin was as close as it could have been.

The boys and girls were articulate, expressive and persuasive. They displayed excellent public speaking skills and were a credit to their teachers Mr Hegarty and Ms Byrne who did so much work with the children in preparing them for the competition.

We are all very proud of the teams and hope they continue with debating as they are clearly very talented.

Well done to all involved including all the members of the debating club and other classmates who contributed so much to ensuring the teams were prepared.

Rush Library

February 1, 2018

Bully-Proof Kids a talk by Stella O’Malley

Monday 5th of February at 6.30pm

Stella O’Malley is a psychotherapist, best selling author, and public speaker with many years’ experience as a mental health professional. Much of Stella’s counselling and teaching work is with parents and young people which culminated in the publication of her book ‘Cotton Wool Kids’ by Mercier Press in 2015. Stella's new best-selling book 'Bully-Proof Kids offerspractical tools to help children grow up confident, resilient and strong'.

Santa Run

Carol Service 2017

Our Carol Service will take place next Wednesday 20th December at 9:30 in our school hall.

Each year we ask parents to make a donation to the Simon Community as admission.

We suggest €3.00.

In the last number of years we have donated over €1000 to Simon each year and hope to do the same this year.

In this small way we can help to combat the scourge of homelessness.

We ask that out of respect for the hard work all children have put into preparing for the Carol Service that people not leave until the concert finishes.

We would also like to remind parents that buggies are not permitted in the hall.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the service.

Is mise le meas

Ger O Sé

Tesco Visit

December 14, 2017

On Tuesday 12th December some of the children from Room 14 4th class went to the local Tesco store.

We wrote out a Christmas dinner shopping list and had to find the cost of the items on it.When we returned to school we added up the amount our shopping would have cost us.

Thank you to Tesco for accommodating our visit and well done to all the children who represented the school in such as excellent manner

​​​​​​​

Our Christmas Classroom Doors

December 12, 2017

Defibrillator

December 1, 2017

Defibrillator

We are delighted to have received our Defibrillator.

Many thanks to all parents who contributed so generously to this initiative. The defibrillator will be a boon for both the school and the St Catherine's estate community.

Thank you to Alan Dillon who sourced the debfibrillator and who has provided First Aid training for several members of staff over the past few months.

Image shows some of our first responders: Jenny, Kathy, Fiona and Elizabeth

Student Council Winter Fair

November 28, 2017

Just 4 more days to Our Winter Fair!

Come one come all to the Winter Fair this Friday December 1st, from 09:00.

The student council will be selling a fantastic array of toys, books, jigsaws and DVDs.

All items are in great condition.

We have everything from Pokemon to Peppa Pig; Rainbow Fairies to Rainbow Dash; Shopkins to Star Wars. There truly is something for everyone.

Ms Sheehan, our resident artist, and fantastic teacher has been working tirelessly with her groups to create Christmas Decorations and Cards designed and produced by the children in St. Catherines.

This event is the brainchild of the Student Council 2017, members of the council were elected by their peers in all classes from 2nd to 6th.

Every cent raised will go towards outdoor activities to be enjoyed by all the children in the school.

Please do come and support the children's enterprise.

Items for sale will range from 1€-5€

Each class will be allocated time to shop in the hall.

Parents are invited into the hall from 09:10 -09:30 to shop til you drop!

Please try to support the sale by giving at least 2€ to your child on Friday to spend at Our Winter Fair.

Annual Christmas Swim

November 28, 2017

Dear Parents

For those of you who are brave enough, the Christmas Swim will take place on Saturday 16th December at 10am at Loughshinny.

All parents are welcome to take part in this fundraising event and sponsorship forms will be available from the Committee and from Anne in the school office from next Monday.

If you can't face the thoughts of getting into the water yourself then please support our swimmers by sponsoring them generously and/or coming along on the day to cheer them on.

This event was great fun last year and raised a significant amount for our School. All funds raised go directly to benefitting the children. This year the money raised will be used to upgrade the school ICT System. We look forward to your continued support.

Kind regards

Hannah Hughes

Secretary - St Catherine's NS Parent Association

Winter Jumble Sale

November 27, 2017

Reminder:

Winter Jumble Sale

This Friday the student council will hold a jumble sale in the school hall.

Donations are still welcome. We are looking for toys, games, books and DVD's (U/G) in good condition.

Please support the sale on Friday. Parents are welcome to shop at 9:10 am and classes will be timetabled to shop throughout the day.

Thank you,

St Catherine's Student Council.

Christmas Decoration Craft Fair

November 24, 2017

Feast Day of St Catherine

November 23, 2017

Dear Parents

All are invited to attend a mass in St Catherine's celebrating he feast of St Catherine.

The mass will take place at 10:00 am on Friday 24th November.

Room 13 Dioramas of Dream Bedrooms

November 23, 2017

Beautiful Abstract Art

November 21, 2017

Hi everyone,

Last week in Art Club, the artists abandoned the paint brushes and took up palette knives instead! They listened to some relaxing music and let the music take them wherever they wanted to go. They were presented with paint in just the primary colours so they had freedom to blend and create new colours as they wished.

This week they children used inky markers to add pattern and designs to enhance their paintings. Take a look at their beautiful and original pieces below .

Ms. Sheehan

Parent Teacher Meetings 2017-18

November 20, 2017

Dear Parents

The following may be of use to ensure a successful parent / teacher meeting this week.

Please make sure to talk to your child before the meeting to check if there is anything they would like you to talk to the teacher about.

Look through your child's copies and make notes of anything you might like to talk to the teacher about?

Bring samples of children's work to the meeting with you.

Discuss all aspects of your child's learning - not just Literacy, Numeracy and Well-Being. How are they progressing in the Arts, PE, Science etc.

If you find that you would like more time than is available at this meeting be sure to schedule another appointment.

Prepare a list of questions
Preparing a list of questions will help you have a productive conversation with your child's teacher. Prioritise the questions in case you run out of time during the conference.

The following questions are examples that will help you learn more about your child's progress in school:

What is my child expected to learn this year?

How will this be assessed and evaluated?

What are my child's strongest and weakest areas?

What are some examples of these strengths and weaknesses?

How does Homework, as given, help my child's learning.?

How are my child's test-taking skills?

Is my child participating in class discussions and activities?

How are my child's social skills?

Does my child seem happy at school?

Have you noticed any unusual behaviors?

Do you think my child is reaching his/her potential?

What can I do at home to help support his/her academic progress?

Le meas

Ger Ó Sé

Student Council Jumble Sale

November 15, 2017

Winter Jumble Sale

We in the Student Council are running a Winter Jumble Sale on the 1st of December to raise money for outdoor games.

We are looking for donations of toys, books, games and DVDs, rated U or G, in good condition.

Please no teddies or broken items.

These items can be brought in to school any day between now and Friday 24th of November and brought to rm 14.

Please support this sale and we look forward to welcoming you on Friday the 1s for a shopping spree!

Thanking you in advance

The Student Council

After School Art Lessons

November 14, 2017

Hi all,

Last week, the children used chalk pastels and oil pastels on black sugar paper to create a snowman themed winter scene.

They focused on blending the colours with their finger tips to create a variety of colours and effects.

Take a look at these work-in-progress pieces, which will be completed next week.

Running Club

November 9, 2017

Our new Running Club for children from 3rd - 6th will begin on Friday the 10th November from 8.10 am - 8.50 am.

Children should wear tracksuits and bring school uniform to change into after running.

The club will continue each Friday morning.

Parent/Teacher Meetings 2017

November 9, 2017

Our Parent/Teacher meetings will take place on the 22nd and 23rd of November.

Invitations will issue from teachers in the next week.

We look forward to meeting everyone.

Defibrillator

November 9, 2017

Many thanks to all who helped us collect over €1000 towards the cost of a defibrillator for St Catherine's.

Happy Halloween from 4th Class Room 14

October 27, 2017

Parents Association AGM

October 19, 2017

St Catherine's NS Parent Association

AGM

Tuesday the 24th November

7:30 pm.

An Artist's Visit

October 17, 2017

An Artist's Visit

Last week, 5th and 6th Class student's in Room 16 had a visit from an artist! Our very own Ms. Sheehan showcased her portfolio and a variety her own paintings for our class. She shared her personal style, her influences and her choice of media in her artwork. Hopefully this may inspire the artists of tomorrow!

First Holy Communion 20th May 2017

May 22, 2017

On Saturday the second class children from room 9 and 1O made their First Holy Communion.

All the children looked fabulous and were wonderful during the ceremony. Everyone carried out their jobs brilliantly.

We were very proud of each one of them.

A big thank you to Mr Dunne and the choir for the beautiful singing.

Thank you to Mr. Ó Sé for all his support and for carrying out the important job of lighting the children’s candles on the day.

Thank you to Fr Kevin for all his help and for the lovely ceremony. Thank you to all at the church for making it look so beautiful on Saturday.

Thank you also to the Parents Association for the wonderful party back at the school.

Thank you to the parents/ guardians you helped accompany us to the church to practice.

And the final thanks to all the parents/guardians for your continued support.

We hope you all made happy memories on Saturday.

L. O’ Neill S. Cosgrove

May 18, 2017

The children in 2nd class are busy preparing for their First Holy Communion on Saturday.

May 18, 2017

Getting ready for Easter in Room 9

March 31, 2017

Springtime Nature Walk with Mary

March 28, 2017

The students of Room 3 took advantage of the beautiful weather last week and went on a nature walk with Mary around the school's wonderful surroundings.

Springtime has definitely arrived at St. Catherine's as we saw blossoming daffodils, tulips and a variety of leaf buds.

Mary let us explore a variety of birds' nests, deer antlers and animal skeletons. We are so lucky to have these resources on our doorstep!

Many thanks to Mary for taking us on our adventure.

Picasso Self Portraits of Room 3

March 22, 2017

We were very busy in Room 3 over the last few weeks. We explored some of the artwork of Pablo Picasso.

We even created our our self-portraits based on Picasso's unique style.

The Ark Theatre

March 22, 2017

6th Class had a great day at the fabulous Ark Theatre on Tuesday. The class took part in a Portrait Workshop...here are some of the photos from the day.

Cyber Bullying Meeting

February 17, 2017

Reminder

Meeting for Parents of 5th and 6th class children

Topic: Keeping Children Safe on-line

Where: St Catherine's NS

When: Monday 20th February

At: 6:30 pm

Meeting will finish at 7:00 pm

Musician in Residence

February 16, 2017

Musician in Residence

We are delighted that our musician in residence project will continue this term.

After the wonderful work done by Alan Leech with children and teachers we are very happy to have Grace Bergin work with us for next couple of months. Alan will return later in the year.

Our choral singing in clases and with he wonderful school choir under the direction of Mr Dunne goes from strength to strength!

We hope everyone will be able to attend our now annual Choral Festival on the 4th May this year and hear the results of all the great work being done in the school.

First Confession

February 16, 2017

Congratulations to the children in Ms Cosgrave's and Ms O' Neill's classes who took part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation on the 15th February last. It was a lovely ceremony with superb singing from the children and the school choir.

Well done to all!

Green Schools Action Day

February 16, 2017

Dear Parents,

This year we are working hard to renew our green flag once more. As you know the theme is Global Citizenship: Litter and Waste. In school we are trying to reduce our waste and the children are learning about what it means to be a Global Citizen. They are covering topics such as littering/recycling, human rights, carbon footprint, Fair trade and generally how our actions can affect others in the world. The Green School programme is not designed to be something merely carried out in school, but rather an ethos that we hope the children would bring into their everyday life.

This is where we need your help. There are many simple things you could do to help reinforce the message that we all have a responsibility to look after our world and the people in it. You are probably doing much of this already. Below is a list of ways you can help embed the Green Message with your child.

Ways to Help

• Recycle all waste that can be recycled. Encourage your children to help you with this process.

• Give your children their lunch in a lunchbox and their drink in a reusable bottle. This would cut down massively on the waste they produce, it's also much cheaper for you.

• Try to save water in your house. There are many easy ways to do this, such as shower instead of using the bath and turn off the tap while brushing teeth.

• Try to buy local products, to reduce the carbon footprint of the transport needed to import food.

• Encourage your children to donate their unwanted belongings to charity.

• Try to walk to school or park and stride as often as possible.

• Save energy in your house by unplugging electrical items and switching off lights that are not needed.

• On our Day of Action next Wednesday, 22nd of February, we are having a collection of unwanted clothes to donate to St. Vincent de Paul.

We would be very grateful of your support with that.

Our green code this year is ‘Recycle: It's not a waste of time’

We hope that you will be able to drop into the school next Wednesday, 22nd Feb, between 11.05am and 12.30pm to support our Day of Action. We will be showing all the work we have been doing. On that day we will also be running a Bow Wow day to encourage the children to walk or cycle to school. If you normally bring the children to school by car we would appreciate it if you could park a little bit away from the school gate and walk from there on that morning.

Thank you so much for your support.

Kind Regards,

The Green School’s Committee.

Cyber Bullying

February 7, 2017

On-line Bullying

More than one in 10 schoolchildren in Ireland have been bullied online, new research shows. A study by Dublin City University’s national anti-bullying research and resource centre shows the rates are highest at primary-school level.

A total of 14 per cent of children at primary level say they have been cyberbullied, along with 10 per cent of those at second level , according to an in-depth review of studies carried out across the island of Ireland over the past five years.

Dr James O’Higgins Norman, the centre’s director, said the figures were alarming and urged parents to familiarise themselves with the apps and social media used by their children.

The centre has also produced a video (www.tacklebullying.ie) aimed at helping parents prevent or intervene in cases where their child is being bullied or is the bully.

“New apps and social media platforms are coming on to the market all the time and being targeted at children as young as nine years of age,” Mr O’Higgins Norman said. “There is a pressing need to create protections around children from cyberbullying. For parents at a loss on how to intervene or protect their child, we would recommend they familiarise themselves with the social media channels their children are using first and then talk to their children about their usage.”

The data about the scale of cyberbullying comes on the eve of Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, February 7th. The study forms part of a wider analysis of all studies on cyberbullying in Ireland from 1997 onwards, to be published later this year.

Irish Times February 7 2017

Write for Rights

December 22, 2016

Children in Fifth and Sixth have learned about Write for Rights this month. Every year Fifth and Sixth class children write to support human rights.

We have written to Malala when she was recovering in hospital. One year the class children and Ms O'Neill their teacher spoke on RTE1 radio about human rights. Another year the children met Malala and Harry Belafonte when they were presented with Ambassador of Conscience by Amnesty International.

This year the children learned about Johan Teterisssa a primary school teacher in Indonesia who is serving 15 years in prison for raising a flag banned by the government. The children wrote to him in Indonesia. Some children even wrote their greetings in Indonesian. Well done and thanks to Mr McGrath and Mr Hegarty for working with the children on this project.